Software testing is now a big opportunity
Launching a well-tested product early gives product companies a unique advantage of gaining mind and market share early on.
testing is in: G. Sumithra
The IT industry has continuously been broadening the range of services it offers to global customers. In the last few years BPO, IT Infrastructure Services and ERP were the buzz words. But today, testing of applications, software products and other products in areas such as gaming, animation and engineering services has caught on big time and the industry is recruiting by the thousands.
Education Plus spoke to G. Sumithra, vice president of Testing Practice at Cognizant, to understand the dynamics of the field and the career opportunities it offers:
Why is there a sudden spurt in the need for testing services in the last few years?
First, a large number of closed applications are going online to be accessed by consumers and end users.
For example, a banking application hitherto used by a “teller” is today handled by an end-user. As such, a robust testing infrastructure has become imperative for real-time handling of huge volumes of transactions.
Secondly, many product companies are adopting independent testing, verification and validation to reduce the deployment time for their products. Launching a well-tested product early gives product companies a unique advantage of gaining mind and market share early on.
Thirdly, many testing tools such as IBM Rational, Mercury, Segue are available in the market that helps to standardize testing across partners and provide cull-cycle testing services.
What are the types of testing solutions that companies offer?
Testing solutions are offered at three levels: functional testing, performance testing, and strategic test management consulting.
The first level includes testing of functionality, system integration, user interface, database, compatibility, regression and deployment. At the second level, companies offer a complete performance test solutions suite that includes hardware and software benchmarking, architecture validation, code optimization, load testing, stress testing, volume testing, spike testing and endurance testing.
The third is the high-end of the spectrum that involves Strategic Test Management Consulting. Under this, companies offer Test Process Consulting and Test Program Management.
How are testers recruited and are there any formal academic courses offered?
We recruit engineers, science graduates and post-graduates for our Testing practice.
We also use business analysts (typically MBAs) from our industry practices to provide us the subject matter expertise.
At present no formal courses are available on the subject of Software Testing as part of the graduate program. So, most of the Testers are trained in finishing schools or in-house.
Unlike programmers who need to be skilled in writing code, testers need to be skilled in breaking code. Good testers are those with a solid understanding of the customers domain, an analytical mind to see patterns and automate wherever possible, and with ability to use off-the-shelf testing tools.
What is the long-term growth curve like for a tester?
Testing professionals usually start their careers as testers. They can choose from three different career paths based on their inclination: as a test manager, managing testing teams and deliver testing projects; as a domain expert specializing in a particular industry such as banking or healthcare to become a subject matter expert; and test architect becoming an expert in testing tools and their usage.
Launching a well-tested product early gives product companies a unique advantage of gaining mind and market share early on.
VANI DORAISWAMY
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